I love Easter for so many reasons. My husband and I were engaged on Easter and our first-born son was baptized on Easter. I also love ending the Lenten season and celebrating Life. And who wouldn’t love chocolate eggs? They’re not only delicious but beautifully symbolize the new life we’ve been given. These reasons are all very nice – even blessed – but there are even far better reasons. They were saying to each other, “The Lord really has risen!…
It’s Good Friday, the day we commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? What’s the meaning of Good Friday anyway? Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no…
Holy Week is here. How do you observe it? During the Lent I’ve been fasting from sugary things, been praying on my knees daily, and been listening through the whole Bible. Has anything changed? Am I readier to Easter than otherwise? How should we observe Holy Week anyway? I’ve enjoyed this Lenten journey. I’ve been surprised how good it has felt to surround me with the Word of God. I think I’m readier to quiet myself to listen what God…
Sometimes you hear people saying that Christians only need the New Testament. What do you think? Do we need the whole Bible? I just finished listening to the Old testament as part of my Lenten journey of reading through the whole Bible. And I am more convinced than ever that we need the Old testament to explain the New Testament. You know, sending Jesus was not a spur of the moment idea. God had planned it all along. God had…
Isn’t it amazing that God created us in his own image? Incredible! God wanted us to be able to relate to him in special ways. God wanted human companions and conversation partners. God made us after his own likeness! Wow! We need to always remember we are truly loved and cherished by God. God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of…
Do you feel rejected? Are you afraid that you have failed so miserably that there is no hope? Do you think your past makes you unlovable? I have good news for you. Because of Christ you are never out of reach of grace. Because of Christ you have hope everlasting. Because of Christ restoration is possible. For every single person on this green earth. No exception. All because of Christ. The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby…
The second day of Christmas is a national holiday in Finland and many other European countries. This day is a great day to reflect what Christmas means in our everyday life. But do we have a stable influence of Christmas in our lives? It was great to celebrate baby Jesus and welcome him to the world. But what does it mean to us that Jesus was born 2000 years ago? It is time to put Christmas into practice! It is…
We are fast approaching the Holy Night. The night that changed everything. It’s true that whenever a baby is born, it changes the lives of the parents. But one baby changed the whole history and the future of the humankind. The Holy Night changed everything. The miracle of Christmas is earth-chattering. The wonder of Christmas is life-changing. Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?” The angel replied, “The Holy…
The daylight is getting shorter and shorter, the darkness is all around us. This is the time of year when the Bible verses telling us that Jesus is the light for all people are even more precious. Or maybe it is easier to understand how much we need Jesus in the midst of all this darkness. Because of Christ the darkness will not have the last word. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and…
Black Friday is the craziest shopping day in the U.S.A. But no matter how many hours people spend shopping, the best deal ever can’t be bought. Because it is free yet so precious. It was shed and given on Good Friday almost 2000 years ago. It is valid every day until the end of the world. By dying on the cross for our sake Jesus gave us the best deal ever: we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus….
